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Category Archives: Travel
Canmore, the better Banff
In every country, there is a place that everyone, literally everyone, recommends you to visit. Actually, recommend is too weak of a word for the obtrusiveness: “You have to go there!” Instinctively, this raises some resistance with me, because I … Continue reading
Posted in Canada, Photography, Travel
Tagged animals, Banff, Canmore, hiking, mountains, Trans Canada Trail
12 Comments
Ceaușescu in North Korea
When I lived in Romania, some people said about the long-term dictator, who was overthrown in 1989: “You know, in the beginning, Ceaușescu was not even that bad. After he came to power in 1965, he distanced Romania from the … Continue reading
Posted in Cold War, Economics, History, Music, North Korea, Politics, Romania, Travel
16 Comments
When Train Travel means Time Travel: on the Mennonite Express from Winnipeg to Toronto
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Artikels. This is the third part of the crossing-Canada-by-train trilogy, hence my recommendation to read part 1 and part 2 first. Otherwise, the whole story will go haywire and derail like a freight train, setting an innocent town ablaze. … Continue reading
Posted in Canada, Religion, Technology, Travel
Tagged christianity, Toronto, train, Winnipeg
34 Comments
Change of plans: Mariánské Lázně / Marienbad
Not quite last minute, but two days before my departure, the house-sitting gig in the Cotswolds in England fell through. That’s sad, because I had been looking forward to it. So, I sat here in Bavaria with a packed backpack, … Continue reading
Splendid Isolation
This house in Newquay is a good symbol for how Britain sees itself in Europe. The house probably believes that it is self-sustainable, while relying heavily on commerce and cooperation with the mainland. In the Cornish Guardian, a letter was … Continue reading
A Train full of Old Men – from Edmonton to Winnipeg
In the first part of this Trans-Canadian railway trilogy, the prior perusal of which I recommend for reasons of strictly following the timetable, I had written about the historical importance of the railway for the establishment of Canada. The current … Continue reading
“Couchsurfing in Iran” by Stephan Orth
Couchsurfing, staying with hitherto strangers for free, is a good way to get to know a country and its people. It’s even more rewarding in countries where you don’t speak the language and where you are sometimes a bit lost … Continue reading
Honeymoon on a Train
The young man went to the dining car alone because the wife had a strict rule about not eating after 8 pm and, having crossed several time zones on the long train journey, she was unsure which of them to … Continue reading
The Border between Europe and the Orient
Where exactly are the boundaries of Europe? With that question, you can entertain your guests for a whole evening of barbecue, especially when serving ćevapčići and kebab. It can’t just be the European Union, because why should San Marino, Norway and … Continue reading
Communism in Canada?
With elections less than a month away in the province of Alberta, political placards are sprouting faster than crocuses. “Communism coming soon,” I read on one, coincidentally as I was walking to the grocery cooperative, and I thought: “Well, that … Continue reading
Posted in Canada, Politics, Travel
4 Comments
The Happy Hermit 